Doohan the 'alien' rockets to French win

The dominance of Michael Doohan in the 500cc class continues. The Australian rode his Honda to a fifth win in six races this season at the French Grand Prix in Le Castellet yesterday.

"He's an alien," said the Spaniard Carlos Checa, who finished ahead of Tadayuki Okada of Japan. Doohan, the world champion and championship leader, finished in 42min 38.064sec, clocking a fastest lap of 1:21.674 (98mph). The top six finishers all rode Hondas.

In Hockenheim, Carl Fogarty stretched his overall lead in the World Superbike Championship after taking the second race of round four. The former world champion beat Kawasaki's Akira Yanagawa into second place, with Suzuki taking their first rostrum position of the season courtesy of Jamie Whitham.